


What does a ‘Person Of Colour’ look like in the AO3 Ship Stats?

by centreoftheselights



Series: AO3 Ship Stats [12]
Category: Fandom - Fandom, No Fandom
Genre: AO3 Statistics, Anti-Black Racism, Anti-Blackness, Archived From centrumlumina Tumblr, Character(s) of Color, Colorism, Colorism in Fandom, Colourism, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fandom Research, Fandom Statistics, Meta, Meta Essay, Nonfiction, Racism, Racism in fandom, Representation, Research, antiblackness, diversity, fandom essays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 10:35:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21160259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/centreoftheselights/pseuds/centreoftheselights
Summary: (Or: Fandom’s Colourism Problem)A visual presentation of all the Characters of Colour in the 2017-2019 AO3 Ship Stats Top 100.





	What does a ‘Person Of Colour’ look like in the AO3 Ship Stats?

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**What does a ‘Person Of Colour’ look like in the AO3 Ship Stats?**

**(Or: Fandom’s Colourism Problem)**

Above are images of all 40 Characters of Colour in the [2017-2019 Top 100 list](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19963579/chapters/47258407#workskin) for the [AO3 Ship Stats](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1209645). **What do they have in common?**

Over the span of the [AO3 Ship Stats](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1209645) project, the number of characters categorised as POC in the Top 100 has been steadily increasing. However, presenting a simple number hides a second, more subtle trend in the data: the [2017-2019 list](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19963579/chapters/47258407#workskin) was the first in the project’s history which contained **no Black characters whatsoever**.

Instead, the increase of POC is accounted for by a surge in East Asian characters, primarily originating from **a mix of K-Pop and anime fandoms**. Although some Latino characters, and a single character played by Native American actor, make the list from appearances in Western media, there is a clear and obvious preference for lighter-skinned characters, some of whom are “white-passing.” (One of the three women of colour shown here is played by a white actress, although the character is explicitly identified as Latina.)

The popular fandoms surrounding the above Characters of Colour are definitely a step in the right direction in a fandom culture dominated by white characters. However, it is always important to question which groups are being represented in fandom and **which groups are being left out**. For further reading, please see [my 2016 essay on the topic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16976571).

Bonus: characters described as “Ambiguous” on the list, barring “Reader” characters, are shown below. A full transcription of the data, including character names, is given below.

Data, shown in the format Peak Position In Top 100 - Character Name - Fandom - Number of entries in the Top 100, where more than 1.

1 - Lance (Voltron) - Voltron: Legendary Defender - 3 entries  
4 - Magnus Bane - Shadowhunters (TV)  
5 - Jeon Jungkook - Bangtan Boys | BTS - 3 entries  
5 - Kim Taehyung | V - Bangtan Boys | BTS - 3 entries  
9 - Min Yoongi | Suga - Bangtan Boys | BTS - 5 entries  
9 - Park Jimin - Bangtan Boys | BTS - 4 entries  
10 - Shiro (Voltron) - Voltron: Legendary Defender - 4 entries  
12 - Bakugou Katsuki - Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia - 4 entries  
12 - Midoriya Izuku - Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia - 3 entries  
13 - Katsuki Yuuri - Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)  
14 - Kirishima Eijirou - Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia  
17 - Kim Namjoon | RM - Bangtan Boys | BTS - 2 entries  
17 - Kim Seokjin | Jin - Bangtan Boys | BTS - 2 entries  
19 - Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug - Miraculous Ladybug  
20 - Todoroki Shouto - Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia - 2 entries  
22 - Jung Hoseok | J-Hope - Bangtan Boys | BTS  
36 - Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead - Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia  
36 - Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic - Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia  
39 - Dazai Osamu - 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs  
39 - Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs) - 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs  
47 - Lee Donghyuck | Haechan - NCT (Band)  
47 - Mark Lee - NCT (Band)  
53 - Byun Baekhyun - EXO (Band)  
53 - Park Chanyeol - EXO (Band)  
57 - Bellamy Blake - The 100 (TV)  
60 - Michael Mell - Be More Chill – Iconis/Tracz  
62 - Hanzo Shimada - Overwatch (Video Game)  
64 - Theo Raeken - Teen Wolf (TV)  
72 - Otabek Altin - Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)  
74 - Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī - 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù  
74 - Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn - 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù  
77 - Do Kyungsoo | D.O - EXO (Band)  
77 - Kim Jongin | Kai - EXO (Band)  
82 - Noctis Lucis Caelum - Final Fantasy XV  
86 - Evil Queen | Regina Mills - Once Upon a Time (TV)  
94 - Maggie Sawyer - Supergirl (TV 2015)  
95 - Ayanga - 声入人心 | Super-Vocal (TV)  
95 - Zhèng Yúnlóng - 声入人心 | Super-Vocal (TV)  
99 - Uchiha Sasuke - Naruto  
99 - Uzumaki Naruto - Naruto

Bonus: Ambiguous Characters

1 - Keith - Voltron: Legendary Defender - 4 entries  
54 - Hermione Granger - Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling - 2 entries  
63 - Adam - Voltron: Legendary Defender  
69 - Venom Symbiote - Venom (Movie 2018)


End file.
